# Chapter 60
[Would you like to speak with the Center Director?]
The staff member who received the call must have been surprised, but their response was appropriate.
[That’s right. If you can give me the number where I can directly speak with the Center Director, I will call him.]
[Could you call back in a moment? I can’t share this information at my discretion, and I don’t personally have the Center Director’s number. If you call back in about 5 minutes, I’ll try to get the number by then.]
[I’ll do that.]
The call ended there, and the Center Director told the S-class Espers that the caller had contacted them first.
“How much time has passed?”
The Center Director checked the time and said it had been well over twenty minutes.
“Did you find out where the call came from?”
“We checked, and it seems to be from an unregistered Esper. The location couldn’t be traced.”
Unregistered Espers had long been a headache for the Center.
They didn’t register with the Center, moved around in their own groups, sometimes committed crimes against ordinary people, and formed guilds. Since their help was needed when dangerous dungeons appeared, the Center couldn’t respond strongly against them and had been dealing with them like wayward children.
“Then what about Cha Yoon? Isn’t he the one who has him?”
“Could it have been a prank call?”
While Byun Tae-young and Kyun In asked, the Center Director couldn’t give a definite answer.
“I think we should inform the Center Director of Origin about this as well. And I think it would be good to broadcast this information throughout Origin’s Central.”
At Lee Ha-min’s words, both the S-class Espers and the Center Director wore expressions of incomprehension.
“Wouldn’t that provoke that person?”
The Center Director, in particular, spoke as if thinking Lee Ha-min was strange.
“It must be a lie. Unless it’s the Mental Division, no one can hold Eunwoo captive. Even if an S-class Esper from another country came, it would be the same.”
The S-class Espers looked at each other.
It was something that could be true, but might not be.
Just that level of doubt was reflected in the faces of the S-class Espers looking at each other.
But Lee Ha-min, who knew Eunwoo’s skills better than anyone after countless training sessions with him, didn’t doubt his abilities.
“Please do that, Center Director. I’ll take responsibility for the rest. If Eunwoo asks why we did this, I’ll tell him I’m sorry. And I’ll get him to accept the apology.”
Hearing those words, the S-class Espers were momentarily speechless.
They wondered if that was really possible.
“I think Cha Yoon is with Eunwoo. If someone knows this was done to target a stabilizer, Cha Yoon might step in. He doesn’t seem like the type to stay quiet if he knows someone is trying to get an unfair advantage.”
The S-class Espers thought, “Surely not.”
Then, as if knowing their thoughts, Lee Ha-min looked at them and smiled.
“Think about it, as Espers. For whatever reason, you’ve done something. Then some other guy appears claiming he did it and demands compensation. Would you just stay quiet?”
“I absolutely wouldn’t stay quiet. But Cha Yoon might. He’s a guy that’s really hard to predict.”
Kyun In shook his head as he spoke.
His expression seemed to ask why it had to be Cha Yoon.
He kept thinking that if only it hadn’t been Cha Yoon who did this, they would have already found a lead and solved the problem.
“He might stay quiet, but he might not. Anyway, we have nothing to lose. Those guys don’t have Eunwoo.”
When Lee Ha-min strongly stated this again, the Center Director looked at the S-class Espers.
If they told him to do so, the Center Director had absolutely no reason to refuse.
If they could resolve this issue by using Origin’s Espers, it would be hard to find a better method.
The S-class Espers couldn’t make a decision for quite a long time.
If Lee Ha-min was right, then it would be fine to do as he suggested, but what if he wasn’t?
What if, for some unknown reason, Seo Eunwoo was being held by others and couldn’t escape?
The S-class Espers exchanged these concerned looks for a while, with only groans continuing for a long time.
Then Lee Ha-min said to the Center Director:
“Call them. The Center Director of Origin. And send the file. Tell them to broadcast it immediately as breaking news on all broadcast stations in Central. Also tell them to send us a list of any places that refuse. Don’t forget to mention that people at locations that refuse would be better off evacuating. Along with the message that the building will be completely destroyed today.”
There was no expression on Lee Ha-min’s face as he said this.
The Center Director nodded without saying anything.
The S-class Espers could no longer stop Lee Ha-min.
“Yeah. No matter how well we know Seo Eunwoo, we don’t know him as well as Lee Ha-min. No matter how much we worry about Seo Eunwoo, it’s not as much as Lee Ha-min. Yeah. It’s better to do it that way. I hope some places refuse. I don’t like just holding back, so I’d like to smash something.”
When Kyun In spoke, Byun Tae-young also nodded.
He too wanted to burn something.
But they didn’t get their wish.
The Center Director of Origin, who received the call from the Center Director, immediately accepted the request, and all media outlets in Central simultaneously interrupted their broadcasts to relay the relevant information.
***
If he hadn’t run out of necessities, Cha Yoon wouldn’t have seen that broadcast that day.
Since he hadn’t planned to stay in the cabin for so long from the beginning, his preparations were insufficient.
Food had run out, and he kept needing more things.
He told Seo Eunwoo to stay asleep and went outside.
Even as a Mental Division S-class Esper, his physical abilities were superior compared to ordinary people.
He just didn’t do it because it was bothersome, but if he decided to run, it wasn’t difficult to reach the village about ten kilometers away.
While he was out, he thought it would be better to buy a motorcycle.
He picked out the necessary items and left the store.
The staff didn’t pay any attention to him as he selected items and left.
Cha Yoon was walking leisurely when he suddenly stopped on the street.
He was standing in front of a restaurant, and an old-fashioned television inside was broadcasting breaking news.
It was news about a kidnapper demanding a C-class Guide stabilizer in exchange for the release of Seo Eunwoo Esper.
He stared blankly at the subtitles and went inside, but no one was looking at him.
Cha Yoon watched the breaking news with a face that hadn’t recovered from shock.
‘What? They have Seo Eunwoo? Hand over a stabilizer if you want him back? Those bastards!’
Cha Yoon’s eyebrows twitched with irritation.
He approached someone who was having a meal.
“Give me your car keys.”
The man who was eating handed over his car keys without saying anything.
“Where did you park your car?”
“My car is the white one next to the building.”
The man’s unfocused eyes were hazy, devoid of reason.
Everyone in the restaurant was the same.
After going outside, he got into the white car and started the engine.
“Ah…”
Remembering that he had left his luggage in the restaurant, he went back to get it and then headed straight to the cabin.
If someone had seen his behavior, they might think that even an S-class Esper could get tired using abilities to this extent, but Cha Yoon wasn’t even using 10% of his full power.
When he returned to the cabin, Seo Eunwoo was sleeping as if dead.
“Wake up, Seo Eunwoo. We have somewhere to go together. Let’s have a meal first.”
Seo Eunwoo got up blankly.
Seeing him in such a dazed state was not pleasant.
Although he liked being with Seo Eunwoo enough that he didn’t want to send him back, he didn’t want to keep him by his side like a lifeless doll.
As time passed, his desire grew, and lately he had been increasingly wondering if there was a way to persuade Seo Eunwoo to stay with him.
After pondering briefly, Cha Yoon said:
“Don’t leave. You must always stay by my side.”
Then he released the hypnosis.
It was the strongest command Cha Yoon had used so far.
Seo Eunwoo, regaining his senses, looked around with eyes full of irritation.
Then, without fully turning his gaze to Cha Yoon, he landed a direct punch to his face.
There was no time to block or avoid it.
Before Cha Yoon could twist his fingers to make a sound, Seo Eunwoo’s punches and kicks continued one after another.
“Die, you bastard!”
Cha Yoon burst into laughter while being beaten relentlessly.
He hadn’t expected this, so he hadn’t told him not to hit him beforehand.
It was so humiliating and incredibly painful, but he kept laughing.
“Laugh all you want, you son of a bitch!”
“Stop it!”
Finally, Cha Yoon tried to hypnotize him again, but this time Seo Eunwoo wasn’t just going to be dazed and passive.
He crushed Cha Yoon’s fingers with his foot to prevent him from twisting them to make a sound.
“Aaargh!!”
Seo Eunwoo smiled with satisfaction as he heard the chilling scream.
“That sounds nice.”
Then he squatted in front of the lying Cha Yoon and grabbed his hand.
Cha Yoon thought that Seo Eunwoo might be concerned about him after all.
But that was his miscalculation.
Seo Eunwoo broke Cha Yoon’s fingers one by one.
“Aaaaarrgghh!!”
His screams echoed endlessly throughout the cabin.
Seo Eunwoo kicked and stomped on Cha Yoon until he felt satisfied.
After doing this for about two hours, he felt a bit better.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
